Most of us chew gum daily. According to the American Dental Association chewing gum is very good for dental health it increases the flow of saliva in your mouth, when you chew after eating, the increased saliva flow may help neutralize and wash away acids when food is broken down by the bacteria in plaque on your teeth, and this by itself reduces tooth decay.

So we all know that chewing gum are good for oral health but I want to talk about sugar-free chewing gum, about sorbitol and aspartame that is used to substitute the sugar in chewing gum. I have wrote an article about aspartame before which is found in diet soda drinks, you can check the videos again, they talk about aspartame dangers and side effects.

Let’s talk about sorbitol now. What is Sorbitol?

Sorbitol, or glucitol, is a sugar alcohol which our bodies metabolize slowly. Sorbitol can be found in cough syrups, sugar free mints, sugar-free maple syrup,some cereals, chewing gum, diet foods, diet drinks and ice creams. Sorbitol occurs naturally in some stone fruits and berries from trees of the Sorbus genus. Apples and pears also have natural amounts of sorbitol.

Sorbitol provides about 2.6  kcal\gram and sugar provides 4 kcal\gram, As a food additive Sorbitol has an E-number E420. It is also used as a laxative.

Sorbitol side effects are diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, rapid unhealthy weight loss, and stomach pain.

An article was published on BBC news about sugar free chewing gum, they gave an example about 2 people who chewed about 20 sticks of sugar-free chewing gum daily ofcourse it contains sorbitol, they had become sick.

The 1st woman (21 years old) had complained from diahhroea and stomach pain for eight months, she lost 22 kg in that time. She had lots of tests before the doctors realized that the problem was sorbitol in her chewing gum, she became underweight.

Another man who was admitted to hospital after losing 22 kg in 1 year and he suffered diarrhoea.

They were found to comsume 20 to 30 grams of sorbitol daily (Each stick of chewing gum has around 1.25g of the sweetener). Dr Juergen Bauditz, from the Department of Gastroenterology at Charite University Hospital in Berlin, said 5-20g of sorbitol would be enough to cause minor stomach problems such as bloating and cramps but more than 20g could cause diarrhoea and, as these cases showed, severe weight loss.

After the patients stopped consuming sorbitol in thier diet, they put on weight again they had lost and all the symptoms were gone.

Sorbitol is used in diabetes products in order to cut off sugar consumption, but diabetes people can enjoy normal sugar (ofcourse there are limits to their sugar consumption) followed by daily activity and a healthy diet plan preferred by a registered dietitian.

So now after you all  knew the bad side effects of sorbitol in sugar-free chewing gum you have to be aware, you have to read the food labels carefully, and limit your consumption of sorbitol to the minimum possible or just chew your regular gum, most of chewing gum have between 15 to 20 calories, it is not a big deal, you are going to burn these few calories with any tiny unintended activity, if you didn’t like the idea you can simply cut a little of your calories in something else in another meal, or just use less sugar in your tea if that will make you happy, another choice you can chew sugarless chewing gum and make your teeth and dentist happy. It is your choice to make, choose whatever suits your life style.